Clove + Cherry
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 474 recipes, and they share 223 flavor molecules: the top 7% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and cherry go together?
Yes. 474 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 223 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 7% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (223 of 311) also occur in cherry. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
What each one brings
clove
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for cherry. It carries 88 molecules cherry doesn't have.
cherry
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 11% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for clove. It carries 120 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 6% with cherry.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 9% with cherry.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 5% with cherry.
- Star anise: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 7% with cherry.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and cherry
Spread across courses: mains lead with 19 of the 44 recipes with a course label, then desserts (14).
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (223 of 311) are also found in cherry, but cherry has 120 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of cherry's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 223 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 88 only in clove and the 120 only in cherry.
Clove and cherry questions
Do clove and cherry go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 474 recipes, and they share 223 flavor molecules: the top 7% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and cherry taste good together?
More than half of clove's flavor molecules (223 of 311) also occur in cherry. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic) and ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
What goes with clove and cherry?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 6% with cherry. Allspice and cardamom also fit both.
What can you make with clove and cherry?
Spread across courses: mains lead with 19 of the 44 recipes with a course label, then desserts (14). Common dishes include Pickled Cherries, Angel Hair with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil, Cherry Almond Glaze, Cherry Soup.
Can I use cherry instead of clove?
Only partly. Most of clove's flavor molecules (223 of 311) are also found in cherry, but cherry has 120 that clove lacks. Clove gives you part of cherry's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Cherry. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-cherry. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_cherry_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Cherry},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-cherry},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.